1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,500 Give us your kind of your background on how you got involved in this whole radio thing. 2 00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:12,940 I went to college at, I did two years at SUNY Adirondack, which is a community college in 3 00:00:12,940 --> 00:00:18,060 Queensbury, New York, just a little bit south of Lake George. 4 00:00:18,060 --> 00:00:24,340 And I took an intro to mass media class and kind of was like, well, this is what I want 5 00:00:24,340 --> 00:00:25,340 to do. 6 00:00:25,340 --> 00:00:26,340 This is great. 7 00:00:26,340 --> 00:00:27,340 I like communication. 8 00:00:27,340 --> 00:00:34,720 So I took a couple of classes and then I transferred for my last two years to the College of St. 9 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:41,200 Rose in Albany and they have a really good communications program. 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:46,920 My concentration was in public relations and advertising, but I really took an interest 11 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,800 to the journalism and audio end of things. 12 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:59,900 So I actually applied for an unpaid internship at I Heart Media when it was my second to 13 00:00:59,900 --> 00:01:04,180 last semester of college and it was great. 14 00:01:04,180 --> 00:01:06,160 I learned everything. 15 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:15,880 Every department I was able to go along on sales calls, but also tag along in the newsroom. 16 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:25,000 And my first big break, as I like to jokingly call it, we had a stampede of buffalo come, 17 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:33,160 they escaped from a farm and I have no idea why or how, but they just started running 18 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:38,320 and I don't even know how far they traveled, but they ended up going right past my apartment 19 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:39,320 complex. 20 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:46,920 So I called the station and they were able to get me live on air to do just live about 21 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,400 the buffalo stampeding my apartment complex. 22 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:57,040 That kind of solidified me in the newsroom. 23 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:02,480 And then I did just some part-time weekend stuff doing out of market because we're a 24 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:11,680 news hub in Albany and so we do news for a lot of the East Coast markets. 25 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:18,360 So I was in total after the unpaid internship, I became a paid intern where I did promotional 26 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:24,360 events and news and then I think I left after about a year. 27 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:31,520 So in total I was there for a year and a half and then I took a about two year hiatus in 28 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:36,640 the sales industry as a sales assistant at a newspaper, found out that was not what I 29 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:43,640 wanted to do with my life and took a leap and left my full-time with benefits sales 30 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:50,960 assistant job to take a position as a reporter in the newsroom at iHeartRadio and I've been 31 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:59,320 here for, I've been back for I guess nine months, nine months now. 32 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:00,320 Gotcha. 33 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:02,000 I'm loving it. 34 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:07,360 Well I mean WGY is no easy station to get a job at. 35 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:13,480 What's it like working at a legendary station like GY? 36 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:14,480 It's an honor. 37 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:15,680 It really is. 38 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:22,440 I mean the people, the caliber of people that I work with are just top-notch. 39 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:30,880 Our news director is outstanding and has really been so supportive in this project of mine 40 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:39,400 that I've basically just beat down his door with and he's, it's been great and I mean 41 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:45,160 I know it's really hard to find a job where you love what you're doing and you love the 42 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:50,200 people you work with but truly and I'm not just saying this, I love the people I work 43 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:51,200 with. 44 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:57,480 It's a great group of people and they are so hardworking and take pride in what they 45 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:58,480 do. 46 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,320 I'm just, I feel honored to be able to be a part of it. 47 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:06,480 So how did this whole idea for this podcast come about? 48 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,880 Well I'm obsessed with True Crime and I'm not ashamed to admit it. 49 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:17,160 I've been following True Crime podcast for a while now and of course all the documentaries 50 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:25,720 on Netflix and Hulu, I'm the daughter of a retired state trooper so I'm well acquainted 51 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:31,400 to the world of crime and I guess it's in my DNA I guess. 52 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:41,960 And I, iHeartRadio has really been taking an interest in podcasts and we had a VP come 53 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:47,520 speak at our quarterly meeting and he was talking about podcasts and I had always wanted 54 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,800 to do a True Crime podcast but I had no idea how to get started with it. 55 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:58,280 I'd never done anything like it before so I was really, I was hesitant to bring it up 56 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:07,120 and then I started talking with my coworker one Friday about my interest in True Crime 57 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:12,640 and the newest season of making a murderer and how it's just so fascinating and I would 58 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,320 love to do something like that. 59 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:19,760 So she said, you know, why don't you think about, why don't you do a podcast for iHeart? 60 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:20,760 Do a True Crime podcast. 61 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:22,760 She's like, I don't be with that. 62 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:27,320 I was like, oh my goodness, we should co-host and she goes, I'll be your executive producer. 63 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:33,760 That's Diane Donato who is a veteran reporter, has been there for a while and she was like, 64 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,840 you know, you be the talent, you do the hosting but I will support you 100%. 65 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:43,960 So then we kind of started talking about what we wanted to do and she had the wonderful 66 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:49,160 idea of talking about cold cases because as you know, podcasting, you really have to have 67 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:50,160 a niche. 68 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,920 It can't be broad. 69 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:59,880 It works better if there's a niche and so she was like, well, what about cold cases? 70 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:03,920 And so I looked and you know, we have a good amount of cold cases in upstate New York and 71 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:09,200 that's what I really wanted to bring the attention to upstate because we are so much more than 72 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:10,200 New York City. 73 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:16,720 New York City is great but there's more to the state than just the city and then I kind 74 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:22,720 of, the name just upstate unsolved kind of popped into my head and she was like, well, 75 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:23,720 that's a great name. 76 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:28,840 Jeff, our news director happened to be walking by and we pitched it to him and he's like, 77 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:34,200 yeah, that sounds great and then we just kind of were talking throughout the day as we were 78 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:43,640 doing newscast and the name Suzanne Lyle was thrown around because her family has been 79 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:49,600 active in fighting for missing persons and their families. 80 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:56,080 So that's the name that we know very well up here and they're not, they're very local. 81 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:57,840 So we brought up that name. 82 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:02,400 Then the next, so that happened on a Friday and then the following Monday we received 83 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:07,560 a press release from the Cold Case Analysis Center at the College of St. Rose which happens 84 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:14,920 to be my alma mater and they're unveiling this new program which allows forensic students 85 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:23,200 and criminal justice students to actively investigate real cold cases and it's one 86 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:29,240 of only six in the country, the only one in the state and so they were announcing this 87 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:33,320 press conference about this new program and the first case they were looking at is Suzanne 88 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:34,320 Lyle. 89 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:41,400 So I went to the press conference, I gathered audio which you'll hear in the first episode 90 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:50,080 and then I met separately with Mary Lyle who is Suzanne Lyle's mother and a week later 91 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:56,600 we were four hours deep into a conversation and I spent a total of that first day like 92 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:03,600 six hours with her and realized the scope of Suzy's case, there's just all of this, 93 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:07,440 all of these questions that just don't have answers because a lot of the people close 94 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:09,560 to her aren't talking. 95 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:17,360 So this in my head of St. Unsolved is just going to be one episode, so one case per episode 96 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:22,600 but then it just was morphing into oh my goodness, there's so much material here, this is going 97 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:28,800 to be a couple episodes and then I met with the professor who is the director of the Cold 98 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:35,080 Case Analysis Center and she and their marketing department proposed a partnership between 99 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:42,560 us and the Cold Case Analysis Center so we're investigating this hand in hand and then I 100 00:08:42,560 --> 00:08:48,240 put it all together to go out there and hopefully someone listening to it will know something 101 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,440 and call into the Cold Case Analysis Center tip line. 102 00:08:52,440 --> 00:09:01,040 When you are doing a true crime podcast or even true crime research or cold case research, 103 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:05,720 how helpful are the authorities? 104 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:17,240 So it's tricky, we have met with the state police but they can't tell us anything because 105 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:24,440 it's an open case, they know it's happening but they can't tell us anything because then 106 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:31,880 we become agents of the police and that becomes a hairy situation when it comes to hopefully 107 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:40,880 eventual court proceedings so they can't point us in any direction, they can't tell us who 108 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:49,720 or who not to talk to, they want us to be safe but they can't give us any information 109 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:56,080 because we become agents of the police. 110 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:00,840 So you're not getting any documents or files from them to help you with your research? 111 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:09,880 We can get what's public but a lot of our research has come from the Lyles, Mary Lyles 112 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,240 herself. 113 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:18,420 Take us through the process of how difficult it is to put all the storytelling together 114 00:10:18,420 --> 00:10:23,560 and all the writing together, how time consuming it is on a project like this. 115 00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:33,160 Yeah, you know that's been asked of me recently, I wish I had kept track of all the time this 116 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:45,000 has taken because it's a huge undertaking, I mean the interview aside which we've interviewed 117 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:50,880 probably a dozen or more people and all of those run at least an hour, we had one interview 118 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:56,160 that ran three hours and that's not even counting the total of seven hour interview 119 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:58,960 that I had with Mary over two days. 120 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:09,280 So not counting that, it takes a really long time. 121 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:17,280 I know the first episode because I had to set the tone for the season, that was about 122 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:24,880 30 minutes and I think that took like 30 hours to make that first episode just because I 123 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:34,840 had to kind of, I had a basic knowledge of Adobe Audition but I really had to teach myself 124 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:41,000 a lot along the way and my news director and the executive producer Diane Donato had been 125 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:47,240 great in teaching me tips but I really had, I'm a hands on learner so a lot of it was 126 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:53,880 that too but it's also the, like you said, the storytelling aspect and the writing aspect 127 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:59,120 of it because I have to write scripts for all of it and that takes a while. 128 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:04,840 So you're editing yourself, you're going into Audition and you're editing yourself? 129 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:07,320 Yeah, yeah I do that all. 130 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,400 Do you get paid by the project or are you still working and this is kind of on the side 131 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:16,440 because it just seems like you can't really generate a ton of income at least until the 132 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,880 project is done and then you still have to make a living. 133 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:23,760 Yeah, I'm hourly because this isn't all I'm doing. 134 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:30,200 I also fill in for the newsroom and I also still do promotions for the station. 135 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,680 So this is basically your side project? 136 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:35,160 Kind of, yeah. 137 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,440 So how many episodes with this first case do you have? 138 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:45,480 So it's going to be at least 10, there might be 11 but it will at least be 10. 139 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:46,920 And they come out once a week? 140 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:48,280 Once a week. 141 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:53,080 And are you worried ever that, oh my god, I have one due three weeks from now and I 142 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,040 have so much crap to go through? 143 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:56,040 Nope. 144 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:57,040 Okay. 145 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:01,000 Do you have another case that you have lined up for the future? 146 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,000 We have a couple. 147 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:04,000 Cool. 148 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:12,000 So how long ago did you start the first case so that you were ready to launch last week? 149 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:17,560 So from the time that I went to the press conference to the time it premiered it was 150 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:19,320 exactly four months. 151 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:20,320 Four months. 152 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:22,720 Four months worth of work and all the research and all that. 153 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:23,720 Yes. 154 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:28,600 And like I said, I mean, I probably have not said this enough, the Cold Case Analysis Center, 155 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:35,440 being a partner with them has been so, so spectacular because they had a lot of this 156 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,560 research gathered. 157 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:44,200 And so they brought me in and just kind of made me an honorary member of the Cold Case 158 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:45,560 Analysis Center. 159 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:52,800 And I've been able to just go over all these documents and immerse myself into Suzy's world. 160 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:59,840 But I think I started the actual episode around Christmas time. 161 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:00,840 Wow. 162 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,840 Have you been able to formulate an opinion on what you think happened? 163 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,040 Yes and no. 164 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:12,760 I say yes in that I think that there's multiple possibilities. 165 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:20,440 I have been asked that multiple times and to remain with my journalistic integrity. 166 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:27,920 I don't think I will ever say publicly who I might be leaning towards because honestly 167 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:36,840 there are so many unanswered questions and possibilities that I'm not 100% certain on 168 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:42,200 who this could be because there are people close to her that aren't talking. 169 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:49,040 And yes, that one might say that makes them seem guilty, but they could have also been 170 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:53,840 involved in things that maybe they don't want to get in trouble for that have nothing to 171 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:55,120 do with Suzy's disappearance. 172 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:56,120 Gotcha. 173 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:57,480 So what kind of feedback have you gotten? 174 00:14:57,480 --> 00:14:59,320 Have you gotten any feedback from listeners? 175 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:06,560 I'm actually in a local true crime group and I was able to share on that. 176 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:11,880 And actually before it even came out, someone else shared it on the page and was like, oh 177 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:12,880 this looks interesting. 178 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:15,560 And all these people were commenting on it. 179 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:18,600 So excited for it to come out because there was a trailer. 180 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:23,200 And then I kind of and then someone tagged me in the post and was like, wait a second, 181 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:24,200 that byline looks familiar. 182 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:26,360 She's part of this group. 183 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,240 And so it's been really cool. 184 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,880 And they've I mean, I haven't heard a bad review yet. 185 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:36,200 I'm sure there's some, but no one has said anything bad to me. 186 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,600 Everyone has said that they're hooked and they're ready for episode two and they're 187 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:41,520 ready for more. 188 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,360 Now when what day of the week does it come out? 189 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:45,920 It's going to come out on Thursdays. 190 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:51,280 So the first episode was different because we premiered it on the 21st anniversary of 191 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:52,280 her disappearance. 192 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,920 But every other episode will come out on Thursdays. 193 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:58,040 What is your opinion on this whole podcasting thing? 194 00:15:58,040 --> 00:15:59,040 I love it. 195 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:04,000 I think it's such a great medium, especially for the true crime genre, because I don't 196 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:09,320 think that there's been, I think this is the first time that stories like this can be told 197 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:11,400 because there's no time limit. 198 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,200 There's no constraints. 199 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:19,040 It's completely open ended and it can be as long as it needs to be, and it can be as short 200 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:20,040 as it needs to be. 201 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:24,440 So it's truly just about telling this story. 202 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:26,000 And I think that goes for anything. 203 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,440 It doesn't just have to be true crime. 204 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:33,000 The open endedness of it, I think is really, really, really good. 205 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,040 And I think it's important. 206 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,480 So what are your favorite true crime podcasts? 207 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:38,480 Your top three. 208 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,640 Okay, I'm going to number one, don't laugh. 209 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,000 It's called My Favorite Murder. 210 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,000 It's a true crime podcast. 211 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,680 It's technically under the category of comedy. 212 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:59,920 It's two women out in Los Angeles who are hysterical and they don't make fun of crime 213 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:01,520 or murder victims. 214 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:07,040 They talk about the stories and just kind of riff back and forth, but they're really 215 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,920 open about their mental health. 216 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:17,400 And it's a really, it has garnered just in massive following of people. 217 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:23,800 So they travel all over the world to sold out shows where these two women from LA just 218 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,520 read murder stories back and forth to each other. 219 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:28,960 It's a very interesting podcast. 220 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,440 I definitely urge you to look into it. 221 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:32,440 It's interesting. 222 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:34,400 So that's number one. 223 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:42,000 The second one would be Someone Knows Something, which is a CBC true crime podcast. 224 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,360 And that I think is really, really well done. 225 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:58,320 And they were kind of my inspiration for this because just the way he tells the stories 226 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,360 are just so real and so gripping. 227 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:06,920 And so actually someone compared our podcast to his and that to me was a huge compliment 228 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,880 because I think that he's wonderful. 229 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:17,520 And then the third would be Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard because he's great. 230 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:18,520 Well awesome. 231 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:20,040 Well Phoebe, thanks so much for your time. 232 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:21,200 The podcast sounds great. 233 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:22,200 I love it. 234 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:26,640 I look forward to listening to the future episodes and good luck to you. 235 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:27,640 Appreciate your time. 236 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:28,640 Thank you so much. 237 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:30,560 Tell everyone at WGY we said hello. 238 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:31,560 Okay, I will. 239 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:32,560 All right. 240 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:54,920 Goodbye.